Even The Toughest Of Us
by MusicRocks807
Summary: When Leo set out with his brothers, he assumed it was going to be an average patrol. So he was understandably shocked to see a very familiar young woman huddled behind boxes in an alleyway. (Leorai bonding fluff, T for Karai's innuendos)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: No ownership of the Turtles, please don't sue.**

 **Also, another Karai-and-Leo bonding fic that couldn't actually happen in the timeline (this is set after The Fourfold Trap, when Karai's still missing). But hey, at least this one's happier! More to come soon**

* * *

When Leo set out with his brothers, he assumed it was going to be an average patrol. After literally saving the world, they were all looking for some normalcy in their lives, so Leo had let them go with only a slight warning to keep an eye out for a certain someone. Said warning had been more of a formality than anything else; with how often they had lost Karai, his hope had started to wear thin too.

So the turtle was understandably shocked to see a very familiar young woman huddled behind boxes in an alleyway as he leapt to another rooftop. In fact, the sight brought him so much surprise that it threw his trajectory off-course, and he found himself crashing into the side of a building and tumbling to the alley below. Despite his ninja training, a shriek ripped free as he bounced on top of a closed dumpster, before landing face-first on the ground. He groaned at the embarrassment and the pain.

Then the young woman giggled, and none of it mattered any more.

Leo pushed himself up to a kneeling position to take a better look at her. Karai had always been slender, but now she seemed _thin_ ; her cheeks had hollowed, and the uniform she still wore seemed to sag with excess fabric. Her face looked different too, but he couldn't tell if it was the lack of make-up or the hopeless expression.

He extended a three-fingered hand to her. "Karai?"

She didn't respond. He wondered briefly if she had come to reject that name. The air felt heavier than usual, and he was sure his anxious heartbeat was the loudest sound in the alley. Though slowly, cautiously, Karai inched closer. She still didn't seem right, but at least she was shuffling out from behind the boxes. Only one remained between them, and Leo set his hand down atop it. Hers remained clasped in her lap.

Swallowing nervously, he tried again, "Are you okay? Wait, that's stupid…"

Her lips began to quirk, but the light was quickly snuffed out. Hesitantly, he moved a tiny bit closer to the box, and felt relief wash over him when she didn't react in fear.

As a last-ditch effort, he murmured softly, "I've missed you."

Karai's gaze shifted around the alley awkwardly, before she tentatively reached out. Her hand covered his own and gripped it lightly. He rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of her hand. Her bones felt sharp through her pale skin, and he felt a strong urge to kiss the appendage, which he forced himself to ignore.

Instead, he focused on how close she was allowing him to get, and smiled. "Thanks." When her face contorted in confusion, he elaborated, "For not running away."

She shook her head, a shiver rippling through her. "I _did_ run away. That's the mistake I'm paying for."

"I meant now," he explained. "You could have taken off as soon as you saw me, but you didn't. I could be wrong, but I think that means something."

Karai was quiet for a moment, before asking, "And if I _had_ run from you?"

His face was solemn. "I'm sorry, but I would have had no choice… I'd have had to chase you down."

"But…" Karai's grasp on his hand tightened, "I don't understand. Why?"

Leo sighed. "I'm sick of losing you," he confessed. Her eyes watered, but he wiped away the tears before they could fall. "Don't cry. I don't like it; you don't look like yourself."

Suddenly, before Leo could process what was happening, Karai was climbing over the box and nestling against his plastron. He embraced her without pause, stroking his thick fingers through her dirty and tangled hair. Her clothes were layered in so much grime that the shine of her armour was marred, and her skin was chapped from the nights spent out in the cold. In Leo's eyes, however, she was still beautiful.

He was caught off-guard when she began to cry, but he recovered quickly, rocking her in his arms and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Judging by the ferocity of her sobs, she had been repressing these emotions for far too long, and he knew that she needed to release them. "Shh…" he crooned gently. "It's okay. I'm here for you. It's all gonna be okay."

When her weeping began to subside, he took a chance and whispered, "Seriously, I'm so happy to see you… and everyone else will be, too…"

Unfortunately, she froze. "Everyone else? Are your brothers here?"

"No, no, we split up to patrol!" Leo assured her hurriedly, before tacking on as an after-thought, "And by the way, they're _our_ brothers."

She ignored his last statement, frowning. "They'll hate me, Leonardo."

"Leo," he corrected, "and they _don't_ hate you. You're part of our family; there's nothing you can do that will make any of us hate you."

The girl laughed dryly. "Even Raphael?"

"… Okay, so Raph's a little different. But to be fair, he kinda hates all of us sometimes."

Karai licked her lips. "The rest of you didn't try to poison the others."

" _You_ didn't attack us; Shredder was controlling your mind." He ran a thumb over her forehead. "Please, stop blaming yourself."

Apparently his words didn't go down well, because she shifted nervously away from him until he pulled her closer. She shivered again, and he wondered whether she had caught a chill in the alleyway.

Deciding a change of subject was needed, he asked, "How long have you been out here?"

"… In this alley? A couple of hours."

"No, out in general." When he received no response, he pressed further, "Tell me. You might be sick."

Finally, she sighed and flopped back against him tiredly. "I honestly have no idea how long it's been."

The turtle lifted her up and began to climb a fire escape.

"Leonardo?"

He felt her shiver again and squeezed her tightly. "It's okay, I'm not taking you to them. In fact, I think you'll like my plan; it involves breaking and entering."

"… I must admit, I'm intrigued."


	2. Chapter 2

Running across the rooftops had never been a particular strain for Leonardo, and to his surprise, Karai's added weight had almost no effect on that. When they reached a low, grey building, Karai hummed thoughtfully into his neck.

"Alright, leader boy, I'm curious." She rolled her head around to look at him, and the motion against his skin almost made him groan. "What is this place?"

"It's a public swimming pool," he answered vaguely.

A slim finger prodded his bicep. "And why are we here?"

"So I can help you."

Conceding to his mysteriousness for now, Karai grumbled, "I don't like being helped…"

"Tough," he teased.

April had taken the turtle brothers swimming there several times, and based on what she had said, it wasn't in a very busy area. Leo leapt to the rooftop and scaled the side of the building. Balancing Karai on one knee, he picked the lock on one window with a shuriken.

"Nice," she murmured appreciatively.

She climbed through, and he struggled to follow with his large shell. The room they entered was dark, but the old plush chairs and the reception desk led Leo to believe it was the main lobby. Karai had wrapped her arms around herself again, so as soon as Leo had closed the window, he draped his arms around her to keep her warm.

"So, how is a swimming pool going to help me?"

"The pool won't," he admitted, "but the shower block, vending machines and med kits should."

"Shower block?" She raised an eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"

He blushed and stuttered, "I-I… It's not, like, uh- I mean, the streets, and-"

The kunoichi laughed openly. "You're as adorable as ever, Leo."

"You too." He said it without thinking, then blushed again when he realised.

Unwilling to let her leave his sight, Leo escorted her to the shower block in spite of her taunting. Someone had left a bag of toiletries behind, which Karai gladly 'borrowed'. Once he could hear the water running in the shower, Leo sent a quick text to his brothers saying he would be out late tonight and rummaged through a hamper labelled 'Lost and Found' to get Karai some cleaner clothes. He settled on some grey tracksuit pants he thought would fit her and a navy hoodie that clearly wouldn't.

When Leo knocked at the cubicle ten minutes after the water was shut off, he was certain he could hear sniffling and uncertain breaths before Karai poked her head around the door. "What?" she asked testily, before seeing the clothes he proffered. "Those are hideous."

He shrugged. "It's the lost and found, not a shopping mall. Your alternative is walk around naked."

She winked. "Don't tempt me."

A hand snatched the clothes and a towel from him, the door slamming shut before he had even processed her words properly. Seconds later, Karai's discarded clothes and armour skidded under the door. Leo chuckled to himself as he scooped up the garments, but it quickly changed to a shriek when he discovered her underwear bundled in the black fabric. Genuine giggling echoed inside the cubicle.

Karai peeped around the door again. "You're the one who told me to clean up!"

"I didn't think you'd-" Leo blushed, forcing himself not to look at the lacy panties and sports bra he was holding. "Never mind. I guess I'll, uh, find somewhere to… y'know, wash these…"

"Okay." Leo had turned to walk away when she added suggestively, "As long as you're not planning to do anything _else_ with them…"

He spun to yell at her, but she had already slammed the door with a cackle. Giving in, Leo searched for the kitchen. When he found it, he filled the sink with water and liquid soap, then set her clothes in the basin to soak. While he was there, the turtle did a hurried scan for anything he thought Karai could stomach after over a month without real food.

The blue-banded turtle was debating how heavy noodles were on the stomach when he heard an uncertain call of, "Leonardo…?"

"In here, Karai," he shouted back.

A few moments later, the kunoichi slipped around the counter to join him, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. Leo smiled at her. "Hey. Sorry, did I worry you?"

Her lips twisted. "No."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure." His large hand enveloped her tiny wrist, leading her to the cupboard full of instant noodles. "So, which flavour of noodles do you want?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Really? You're not hungry?" Leo eyed her up. "Karai, you look _ill_. When did you last eat?"

"Maybe I am ill," she snapped, ignoring his last question, "so you shouldn't make me eat in case I puke."

"…"

"… Leo?"

"You're probably not vegetarian. Chicken noodles it is."

Seemingly deaf to Karai's protests, Leo set the kettle to boil and emptied a packet into a pot. When the water was boiling, he poured it over the noodles and left them to cook for a few minutes. Once it was ready, he scooped the meal into a bowl and set in on the table between them with a fork.

Karai scowled. "I said I wasn't hungry."

"Well to me it sounded like a load of crap," Leo replied bluntly. "Now, eat."

She leaned over the table to him. "And if I don't want to?"

He sighed. "Am I gonna have to _feed_ you?"

"Hmm… That sounds interesting," she teased.

He slapped his face into his palm. "Just eat the damn noodles."


	3. Chapter 3

Leo watched in amusement as Karai shovelled another forkful of chicken noodles into her mouth. For all her big talk about not being hungry, she was really making short work of the meal. He was half-tempted to turn on the kettle to make her another portion. At first she had been reluctant and grumpy, but after one mouthful, she was cramming as much as possible into her mouth at once, only slowing to chew when he expressed concern over her choking.

"You were right, Karai," he remarked, as she scraped the last few noodles from the bottom of the bowl. "You weren't hungry – you were _ravenous_."

She swallowed, then licked her lips. "If you had any idea what I've eaten lately, you'd understand."

He shuddered. "I dread to think. Here," he offered her a bottle of water, "do you want some?"

Her eyes widened at the sight. Karai ripped the bottle from his hands and hastily unscrewed the cap, chugging the water back so fast it began to spill down the hoodie she wore. Leo snickered to himself at her eagerness, forcing her to relinquish the bottle while she coughed.

"Thirsty?"

"Gimme the rest," she demanded, voice hoarse.

The turtle shook his head. "No, you'll drink too much and choke again. C'mere."

He moved nearer, gently lifting the bottle to her lips. She drank greedily until the bottle was empty, and when her eyes opened again, Leo realised how close they were. The dirt on her face had washed away during her shower, leaving her looking much more open and vulnerable. Her eyes seemed larger and younger, and her smile seemed kinder.

Of course, she wasn't smiling when she said sharply, "Is there any more?"

"There might be, if you ask nicely."

She looked like she had an angry comeback, but suddenly her face softened into a pout. "Leo…"

He knew that she was playing him like a fiddle, but he couldn't help it; he wanted her to smile again. He grabbed another bottle of water and opened it, but didn't hand it to her.

The girl blinked. "Well?"

Leo smirked. "Open up."

"I can drink without assistance."

"You couldn't a second ago. Come on, just humour me. You still get the water, anyway."

Everything in her nature wanted to fight Leo's babying, but Karai _wanted_ the water. She hadn't had fresh water in a long time, mostly scavenging half-empty bottles people had discarded because they had gone stagnant or, on occasion, sipping from rain puddles. Besides, she reasoned, Leo certainly wasn't the worst person she could give a little power to.

"Fine," she conceded, tilting the bottle to her lips.

Leo let her drain half of it before he pulled the bottle away. "Careful, you don't want to drink too much at once. I'll give you the rest in a bit, okay? Go sit in the lobby, and I'll be there once I've cleaned up here."

She was reluctant to go, but obeyed when he gave her a katana for protection. He removed any trace of their presence, nabbing another bottle on his way out, then slotted the small amount of emergency cash he had in his belt into the cash register to cover the resources they had used up.

Karai watched him from the small sofa she was curled up on. "Wow, you really are a goodie-three-toes."

He crossed to join her, settling on an armchair opposite her. "Spoken like someone who didn't just guzzle this place's noodles and water."

" _Guzzle_?" The girl laughed. "Was there a less sexy word you could have used?"

"Was there a less sexy way you could have eaten?" he ribbed in return.

She tried to kick him, but he caught her bare foot before it could collide with his shell and, most likely, get a nasty bruise. "Don't," he managed through his laughter, "you don't have any padding; you'll hurt yourself."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me: I need to get my clothes before we leave."

Leo delicately released her foot, smiling when she propped it up on his leg. "Well, we don't have to leave _soon_ , do we?"

Karai scoffed. "It's not like I've got anywhere to be."

He swallowed, absently tracing a pattern on her calloused foot. "… You know where the lair is…"

Her toes curled reflexively; he gently unfurled them. "Leo, don't-"

"I know, I know. It's just an offer, no pressure… Although, I do have a proposition for you," he admitted. She glanced away, but he continued, "I wanted to know if you wanted to stay with me tonight... in the lair. Just one night, and nobody has to know you're there! I'll sneak you in, then sneak you out again in the morning. Just so you can see what it's like."

Finally, her eyes lifted to his. "I was going to say 'don't ruin tonight for me'," she said quietly, her voice weak and broken. She yanked her foot away. "Guess that's too much to ask."

"Karai, wait!" he exclaimed. "Please don't go!" The turtle scrambled up onto the sofa beside her. "Look, if you don't want to come, it's okay. Just please, please stay here with me. I'm fine with sleeping in this lobby all night if it keeps you off the street."

She sighed wearily, laying her head onto his shoulder. "How do you find the effort to stay so kind?"

Leo considered a speech about why it didn't take effort, but decided against it in favour of wrapping an arm around her. "Does that mean we're sleeping here tonight?"

"Well, I suppose you're better company than the cockroaches."

"Don't say that," he whined softly. "I don't want to think of you out there alone…"

She snuggled closer. "I'm not alone now."

"True." Leo smiled into her hair. "I really am glad you're okay. When you fell down that drain, I thought you might've been… I-I thought we'd lost you."

"Please. It'll take more than a drain pipe to take me out, Leo."

"I know, I know, it's just that we searched for so long, and there was almost no trace of you, and I was scared that-" He cut himself off. "Never mind. You're here now and that's what matters."

The girl nuzzled into him. "Aww… How sweet."

He enfolded her in a hug. "Yeah, yeah. Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?"

"Not yet." Karai grinned cheekily at him. "Am I allowed any more food?"

"Not yet," Leo mimicked, amused. "You'll make yourself sick if you eat too much. You can probably drink a little more water if you want to, though."

"Okay." She accepted the bottle he gave her and quirked an eyebrow. "So I'm allowed to drink water myself now?"

Leo nodded, but watched carefully as she drank. Frustrated with his antics, she tipped the bottle back and swallowed as much as possible before Leo intervened. "Hey, hey, stop it! You're gonna choke!"

Karai coughed a little, but rolled her eyes at him. "See, Leo? I'm fi-" She was cut off by her own hiccup. At the fond curve of his mouth, she frowned. "Don't you dare say it's-"

"Cute?"

She hiccupped again before she could retort.

They settled together again, and when she grew frustrated with the hiccupping, Leo laughed. "Try holding your breath or something. Either that, or I'll have to scare you."

"You can't scare me, Leo. You've never scared me…"

"Good," he murmured happily. "Now come on, hold your breath."

When she did so, Leo smiled affectionately at the face she made, making her shift uncomfortably. He shook his head quietly and rubbed her back in an attempt to comfort her. Once her hiccups had subsided, Karai elbowed him. "Stop staring at me."

"I can't help it," he confessed. "Anyway, what else am I meant to look at in here?"

She smiled, but flinched as she let herself fall against his plastron. His eyes widened, and she groaned. "I'm fine."

"Where does it hurt?"

" _I'm fine_."

"Is it bleeding?" He lifted the edge of the hoodie and gently felt for an injury. No blood stained his fingers, but she grimaced when he brushed against her rib accidentally. "Have you hurt your rib? Let me see if there's a bruise."

"It doesn't matter…"

The turtle ignored her, leaning over to check. The area was bruised and slightly swollen, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed sooner. "Oh, man. Karai, that looks bad. That might even be _broken_. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it _doesn't_ _matter_ ," she snapped, pulling away.

Lightning fast, Leo had hold of her again, and was carefully inspecting the afflicted area. "Of course it matters. Now sit here for two minutes; I'm getting a first-aid kit."

After a very careful inspection, Leo decided that there was likely no break, but the area was still very tender. Eventually Karai confessed, after much interrogation, that it had been that way since she fell down the drain.

"So you've been in this much pain for over a month?" he inquired.

Karai frowned, twisting away from him. "Kinda. It's been on and off. Depends where I've slept, usually." She added quietly, "Or who I've met…"

" _What?_ "

"Nothing." She shrugged. "Some New Yorkers just don't take kindly to street dwellers."

Leo's heart ached at the thought. He struggled to imagine the last month of her life, huddling in alleyways and searching for food and water. Add angry, violent New Yorkers, and the guilt that seemed to cripple her, then it must've been hell.

He vowed there and then that, regardless of what happened next, he would do all he could to keep this burden off her shoulders.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is it, guys! Thanks for sticking with this fluff-fest :)**

It was late – or early, really. Most likely around two in the morning, although the turtle hadn't actually checked a clock. Once he had secured an icepack to Karai's bruising, Leo had sat with her for over an hour, just talking. He would have gladly chatted away the rest of the night with her, but she quickly grew tired. When her head drooped onto his shoulder for the fifth time, he had chuckled and settled her down on the sofa.

"I'll be back in a minute," he had assured her, "I'm just gonna put your clothes on the radiator to dry out."

"This place doesn't feel like it has central heating," she had complained, but he had completed the task anyway. Hopefully the heating was on a timer.

As he returne d, his lips quirked at the sight of her trying to stay awake. There had been an old blanket draped over the little sofa, and apparently she had pulled it down over herself while he was gone.

He smirked. "Are you cold?"

She didn't answer, instead snuggling further under the blanket. Leo smiled at her. "Okay, okay. Get some sleep, then. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Karai."

"Goodnight…"

The turtle tucked himself up on one of the soft, worn chairs opposite her, sending her a small smile when she glanced over at him. It had been a long night, and Leo was almost asleep when he heard it. She was sniffling. He couldn't see her face under the blanket, but he could hear her desperately trying to conceal her crying.

"Karai?" he ventured gently.

He was whispering, but his words sounded too loud in the dark, silent room. He tried again. "Karai? Are you okay?"

There was a moment of tense silence before she inhaled softly and choked out, "Yeah. Just trying to get to sleep."

The turtle drummed his fingers against the chair's armrest. "Okay. How did you get to sleep when you were… y'know?"

She laughed dryly, pulling the blanket down just enough to face him. "When I was where, the Foot or the streets? The answer's pretty much the same either way; I waited until I was too tired to stand, then passed out."

Karai was still smirking when she stopped speaking, but it faded as she noticed Leo's worried expression. She opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind and lay her head down on the sofa again. When he still didn't lighten up, she scowled and pressed her face into her 'bed'. The girl was still frowning at the sofa cushions when she heard his footsteps.

"Mind scooting over? My shell's a little bigger than this little sofa."

Propping her head up on her folded arms, Karai grinned at him. "Check your privilege, Leonardo; this is the biggest bed I've slept on in months."

"Right, because mutated turtles have so much privilege to check…" he muttered, before registering what she had said. "Wait, _months_? As in, plural?"

She nodded. "When Shredder had control of me, I slept on a little metal thing. It was hooked up to a machine that replaced those brain-worms whilst I slept."

"He…" Leo's voice was the strangest mix of pity and fury she had ever heard. "He didn't even give you a real bed?"

Before she could answer, his arms were around her, taking care not to press on her bruised ribs. He didn't squash onto the sofa after all, instead seating himself beside it. She blinked and found herself much nearer to his face than she had intended to be, for the umpteenth time that night. His caring blue eyes seemed even wider than usual as he stared at her.

She opened her mouth, aiming to make a joke about a bed not being necessary right now, but the words died on her tongue. Even she couldn't pretend this was a mood that would tolerate half-baked innuendos. What finally croaked out was: "I hate him."

"Me too," Leo answered instantly, without a trace of doubt. "He's a monster."

"So am-"

"Karai for fuck's sake nobody blames you! How many times do I have to say it?! You were being controlled, we know damn well it wasn't you and we knew it then! We care about you, Karai! I LOVE YOU!"

Karai's only comfort was that Leo appeared as startled as she was by his own words.

He swallowed thickly. "I, uhm- Uh – We. _We_ love you. Is what I m-meant. Y-yeah."

She nodded, though she didn't feel like she understood. "I… I love you… _guys_ , too." Her mouth pinched. "…I think. This is my first experience of it. There wasn't a lot of love in the Foot."

"I can imagine," Leo managed to reply. His grip on her had gone slack; it felt like he was trying to slide his arms away without her noticing. She slid her hand over one of his to stop him. It worked, but he still looked lost.

And he was, of course. Had he actually just told Karai he loved her? _Like this?_ What was _wrong_ with him? At least she was humouring his terrible cover-up, though he knew she hadn't bought it for a second. She had seen through him every other time he tried to pull one over on her; why should this time be any different? He had half-expected her to shove him away in disgust, so was pleasantly relieved when she wriggled down to lay her head in the crook of his elbow.

"Mind staying here until I fall asleep?" she asked quietly.

He titled his head, bemused. "Mind? I was staying with you anyway, remember? I said earlier I'd stay in the lobby all night."

"Not in the lobby, idiot." Karai rolled her eyes. "I meant _here_. Next to me. Since there's no room on the sofa for your massive shell."

"Gee, thanks."

"What? Sensitive about your shell size?" Her eyes glittered like a predator's, but Leo could figure out her game by now.

"It's got nothing to do with compensation, shut up and go to sleep," he commanded, but his voice wavered with mirth as he spoke.

Karai giggled to herself – a wonderful sound he wished would last longer – before finally settling again. She closed her eyes, then peeped them open to peek at him, then closed them again. Then they opened again. This repeated several times before Leo informed her, "You'll never get to sleep if you keep looking at me, you know."

"Just checking…" she murmured drowsily.

"Huh."

"Nothing. Never mind. 'Night."

As silently as possible, Leo shifted himself nearer to her. "Goodnight, Karai," he said, far too close to her ear. She jumped slightly, but quickly rolled over in his arms and tried to pretend it didn't happen. With the great kindness she had just paid him, he allowed her to do so unquestioned.

True to his word, Leo did not move until her breaths had evened out and her whole body had relaxed in a way only proper sleep could grant her. Even then, he only changed sitting positions to make his legs more comfortable. He'd had many sleepless nights because of Karai; this time though, she was beside him, and he could listen to her murmur in her sleep. It was wholesome and heart-wrenching to see her so peaceful. He knew he would never see it in her awake, but privately, he thought that catching another few glimpses of it like this would be just as nice.

Eventually, Leo felt himself beginning to drift off too. He set his head on his arm, right behind Karai's. The turtle was almost gone when his phone lit up.

 **RAPH:** _Everything okay, Fearless?_

As Karai sighed dreamily, Leo felt himself smile yet again. He softly typed a response to Raph.

 _Bro you would not believe the night I've had. But yeah, everything's fantastic. Have one hell of a story for you guys tomorrow. See you in the morning._


End file.
